September 16, 1998 All Things Considered (entire program) Requires the RealAudio Player

An index of the day's stories:

CLINTON NEWS CONFERENCE -- We'll hear excerpts from President Clinton's first news conference since the release of the Starr report. It took place today at the State Department, and Czech Republic president Vaclav Havel also was in attendance. (3:30)

HILL NEWS -- NPR's Brian Naylor reports from Capitol Hill on debate between House Republicans and Democrats over whether to make public a videotape of President Clinton's grand jury testimony about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. A vote is expected this week, with Republicans saying the tape should be relased to better inform the public and Democrats saying its release wuld be unfair to the president. (4:00)

CONGRESS E-MAIL -- NPR's Larry Abramson reports that Capitol Hill has been flooded with phone calls and e-mail since the Starr report was released. Hill staffers say opinion has been running against the president, with no sign the deluge is an organized campaign. They say most messages seem to be heartfelt reactions to the accusations against Mr Clinton. In addition, the large volume of e-mail may be to blame for slowing the Capitol's computer system. (3:30)

OTHER STORIES -- Other stories we're following today include: Greenspan on Hill and Northwest Resumes Flights. (:30)

GORBACHEV RETREDS -- NPR's Michele Kelemen reports that Russia's new prime minister Yevgeny Primakov has yet to unveil the details of his plan to halt the slide of the ruble and the collapse of the country's banking sector. But the advisers and cabinet ministers Primakov is bringing into the government give some clues as to his intentions. The new team will include economists from the Gorbachev era, as well as so-called "moderates" from the Duma who favor a more gradual approach to reform. The young market reformers favored by the West are out. (3:30)

BOOZING ETIQUETTE -- In Russia, strict rules define the act and the etiquette of drinking. Commentator Jeffrey Tayler talks about the rules and regulations surrounding the pastime, and the drink of choice -- vodka. (4:00)

WHY HOGS SMELL -- Commentator Michael Ivey accidentally runs into a controversy in a small Ohio town over plans by an out-of-town farmer to construct a large-scale factory hog farm in the community. Ivey takes us to meet the principals in the story, and we learn about their conflicting concerns. The farmer says he has to expand his small, family-run hog operation in order to allow his two sons to join the business. The opponents in Cumberland, Ohio fear for their air and water cleanliness if the new hog farm is built. (12:30)

DRUG CRIME DISPLACEMENT -- What happens when a big city cracks down on drug dealers? It's the dealers' equivalent to urban flight - they simply move out to the suburbs, police say. That's what officials see happening in places like Yonkers, where officials say they're seeing an increase in major drug activity - at the same time New York City is cracking down on dealers. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports. (5:30)

LOU REED MULTIPLE CHOICE QUIZ -- Rock legend Lou Reed, one of the founders of proto-punk rock band The Velvet Underground, is scheduled to perform for Czech President Vaclav Havel this evening at the White House. Reed's best known song is "Walk on the Wild Side." We suggest some of the material from his vast songbook that might be appropriate to play in the presence of Bill Clinton during his times of trouble...for example, "Harry's Circumcision," "My Red Joystick," "Leave Me Alone," "Dirt," and others. (2:30)

WHITE HOUSE NEWS CONFERENCE -- This afternoon, President Clinton held his first news conference since the Starr report was released. It was a joint news conference with the visiting president of the Czech Republic, Vaclav Havel. NPR's Mara Liasson reports. (5:00)

PRIMARY RESULTS -- Voters in nine states and the District of Columbia went to the polls yesterday in the last big primary day of the year. Among the big winners, Congressman Charles Schumer won the Democratic Senate nomination in New York to take on incumbent Republican Al D'Amato. Minnesota state Attorney General Hubert Humphrey III is the Democratic nominee for governor and will face St. Paul Mayor Norm Coleman (R) in November. And Anthony Williams won the Democratic mayoral primary in the District of Columbia, making him the likely successor to Marion Barry, who is retiring. Everybody was looking for some sort of clue as to what yesterday's primaries portend for November or President Clinton's future. But as NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports, there may not be much there to discover. (3:30)

NORTHWEST RESUMES FLIGHTS -- The first Northwest Airlines passenger plane to take to the air in more than two weeks took off early this morning. A strike by the pilots grounded the airline for more than two weeks and the company reportedly lost hundreds of millions of dollars. Mark Zdechlik of Minnesota Public Radio reports on the return of Northwest. (4:00)

ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE -- NPR's Rebecca Perl reports that in a series of articles and an editorial, the New England Journal of Medicine warns that alternative medicines -- "dietary supplements" -- are potentially powerful, potentially dangerous, and virtually untested. The Journal says there aren't two kinds of medicine -- conventional and alternative -- but only one kind, medicine that is tested and found to be safe and effective. (5:00)

INTERNATIONAL AIDS FUNDING -- NPR's Brenda Wilson reports that U.S. and international AIDS prevention organizations told a congressional committee today that although more money is needed to fight the disease worldwide, there are serious political problems in the developing world that are also standing in the way: Leaders of these developing countries have been unwilling to recognize the seriousness of the problem. More than 30 million people are infected with HIV ... the overwhelming majority of them in developing countries. The U.S. contributes more to prevention than any other country. (3:00)

GREENSPAN ON HILL -- NPR's John Ydstie reports Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin did their best to calm jittery financial markets today. Speaking to members of the House Banking Committee, Greenspan said there was no plan for a coordinated move on interest rates by the U.S and other developed nations. Both Greenspan and Rubin said the world needed stronger international financial institutions in order to avoid a repetition of recent turmoil. (4:30)

AFGHANISTAN & TALIBAN -- NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says that, while Washington reels under the Lewinsky crisis, the volatile situation in Afghanistan continues. (3:30)

A CLOSE CALL -- Commentator John Rosenthal recalls seeing a car drive off a steep enbankment in the terrible fog. He stopped his car to try to help the driver, who turned out to be fine...though very drunk. (4:30)

JOSHUA BELL -- Robert talks with violinist Joshua Bell, who has recently released two albums: "Gershwin Fantasy" and "The Red Violin," which is a motion picture soundtrack. They talk about Bell's involvement with "The Red Violin," which was directed by Francois Girard. Bell not only played the violin for the film, but acted as a body double for the actor playing the violinist. "Gershwin Fantasy: Porgy and Bess Violin Fantasy and Songs and Preludes" featuring Joshua Bell with John Williams and the London Symphony Orchestra is available from Sony Classical, catalogue number SK 60659; "The Red Violin: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack" featuring Joshua Bell on Solo Violin with The Philharmonia Orchestra, conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen, is available from Sony Classica, catalogue number SK 63010. ((STEREO)) (8:00)